Carbon footprint reporting on the rise among business
It has become relatively commonplace for businesses to voluntarily disclose descriptive information about what they are doing to ensure environmental sustainability in their operations via their sustainability reports. However, a new trend is emerging among the corporate sector to disclose their carbon footprint.
This involves giving actual, verifiable numbers to show how their company – no matter what industry they operate in – is performing on their environmental commitments by using a common measure: greenhouse gas emissions.
The Carbon Disclosure Project, a UK non-profit organisation that provides a system for companies to voluntarily report their environmental information, states that more than 3700 companies voluntarily disclosed information regarding their greenhouse gas emissions to the Project in 2011 – up from just 922 in 2006.
And it’s not just the corporate sector that is getting in on the action, the United Nations last month published its third annual 'Moving Towards a Climate Neutral UN' report, detailing the UN's greenhouse gas emissions for 2010 and its on-going efforts to measure and reduce them.
"The United Nations system is strongly committed to leading by example and ensuring that our operations are continuously monitored and improved – not just in terms of what we deliver, but also how we deliver," states UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in the report.
Many organisations are implementing the well-known saying “words are weak, let actions speak” to give calculable proof to their sustainability goals.
NEPCon’s new Carbon Footprint Management certification service can help your company achieve carbon neutrality, back your efforts with credible third-party assurance, and provide guidance on how to communicate this to your customers and shareholders.
